The Best Elvis Presley Movies

Ranker Film
Updated August 11, 2023 21.2K votes 2.5K voters 105.7K views
Over 2.5K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Elvis Presley Movies
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Vote for your favorite movies, regardless of critic reviews or how big the role was.

Elvis Presley may be best known as a generational rock star, but from the very beginning of his career, he was making waves in Hollywood. From 1956 to 1969, he starred in 31 movies - and all while juggling a massive recording and touring career as well.

Not surprisingly, most of his big-screen productions took advantage of his pipes, as breezy musical romances like G.I. Blues, Viva Las Vegas, King Creole, and Blue Hawaii being among his most popular films. Still, the musical element was often paired with other genres - such as his roles as a boxer in Kid Galahad and a race-car driver in Spinout and Speedway, not to mention his Western forays like Frankie and Johnny and Stay Away, Joe.

The selling point for all of these movies was, of course, Elvis himself; they were built around his image as a singer, dancer, sex symbol, and All-American hero. But which Elvis movie is the best Elvis Presley movie? No doubt die-hard Elvis have been debating that question for decades now. Your votes will decide. Just remember that this list only includes his starring roles in feature films. For movies about Elvis, that’s another story - and you can take your pick among the many stars who have tried their best to emulate the King.

If you're a fan of Elvis Presley, then check out our lists of the best John Cena and Jean Harlow movies as well.

Most divisive: Stay Away, Joe
Ranked by
  • King Creole
    1

    King Creole

    Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Dolores Hart
    789 votes
    • Released: 1958
    • Directed by: Michael Curtiz
    Denied his high school diploma because of a schoolyard fight, Danny Fisher (Elvis Presley) is unsure how he's going to support himself and his unemployed father (Dean Jagger). He briefly flirts with a life of crime before a club owner (Paul Stewart) hears him singing and offers him a job. Things look promising until rival club owner and Danny's former boss, Maxie (Walter Matthau), tries to lure him back with threats and the charms of his sometimes-girlfriend, Ronnie (Carolyn Jones).

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  • Viva Las Vegas
    2

    Viva Las Vegas

    Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Teri Garr
    728 votes
    • Released: 1964
    • Directed by: George Sidney
    Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American musical film starring Elvis Presley and actress Ann-Margret. Directed by golden age Hollywood musical director George Sidney, the film is regarded by fans and by film critics as one of Presley's best movies, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. It also presents a strong set of ten musical song-and-dance scenes choreographed by David Winters and featured his dancers. Viva Las Vegas was a hit at movie theaters, becoming the number 14 movie in the list of the Top 20 Movie Box Office hits of 1964.
  • Jailhouse Rock
    3

    Jailhouse Rock

    Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy
    704 votes
    • Released: 1957
    • Directed by: Richard Thorpe
    A young man, Vince Everett (Elvis Presley), is convicted of manslaughter after being drawn into a bar fight while trying to defend a woman. In prison, Everett finds salvation when his cellmate, a country singer named Hunk Houghton (Mickey Shaughnessy), hears him sing and pegs him as a future star. Once released, Everett gets a job in a night club and meets Peggy Van Alden (Judy Tyler), a young woman who works for a record company and who, like Houghton, also sees talent in Everett.

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  • Blue Hawaii
    4

    Blue Hawaii

    Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury
    650 votes
    • Released: 1961
    • Directed by: Norman Taurog
    After being discharged from the U.S. Army, cool guy Chadwick Gates (Elvis Presley) returns home to Hawaii. Following several years of strict military life, Gates wants nothing more than to hang loose and surf all day. His family pressures him to work for the family pineapple business. Much to the chagrin of his snobby mother (Angela Lansbury), Gates lands a job as a tour guide at the same company where his girlfriend, Maile (Joan Blackman), also works.

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  • Follow That Dream
    5

    Follow That Dream

    Elvis Presley, Arthur O'Connell, Anne Helm
    549 votes
    • Released: 1962
    • Directed by: Gordon Douglas
    Pop Kwimpel (Arthur O'Connell), son Toby (Elvis Presley) and their ragtag clan of adopted orphans wind up marooned on the side of the road in Florida, so they set up a makeshift home on the beach. Soon, uptight local bureaucrat H. Arthur King (Alan Hewitt) orders them off the land, but the state government doesn't back him up. An enraged King then sets out to get his way, using manipulative social worker Alisha Claypoole (Joanna Moore) as part of his scheme to evict the Kwimpels.
  • Loving You
    6

    Loving You

    Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott, Dolores Hart
    461 votes
    • Released: 1957
    • Directed by: Hal Kanter
    Loving You is a 1957 American Technicolor musical drama structured as Elvis Presley's first starring film vehicle, following his debut the previous year in a supporting role in the black-and-white film, Love Me Tender. Directed by Hal Kanter, the cast is completed by Lizabeth Scott, Wendell Corey, and Dolores Hart in her movie debut. The storyline, about a delivery man who is discovered by a music publicist and a country–western musician who want to promote the talented newcomer, was scripted by Herbert Baker and Hal Kanter, based on the short story "A Call from Mitch Miller". Kanter expanded the script after being inspired by Presley's last appearance on the Louisiana Hayride, and his manager Colonel Tom Parker's antics. A box office success, Loving You opened nationwide on July 9, 1957. Paramount Pictures chose to ignore the first-run theater system, opting instead to release the film in sub-run neighborhood theaters, a system later dubbed the "Presley Pattern". Composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Presley's single " Teddy Bear" backed with "Loving You" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.